Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Nesting Success, Forest Structure, and Southern FlyingSquirrels in Texas

摘要

For several decades general opinion has suggested that southern flying squirrels(Glaucomys volans) have a negative effect on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) through competition for cavities and egg/nestling predation. Complete removal of hardwood trees from Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity tree clusters has occurred on some forests because southern flying squirrel abundance was presumed to be associated with the presence and abundance of hardwood vegetation. In some locations, southern flying squirrels have been captured and either moved or killed in the name of Red-cockaded Woodpeck management. We determined southern flying squirrel occupancy of Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities in loblolly (Pinus taeda)--shortleaf (P. echinata) pine habitat (with and without hardwood midstory vegetation) and longleaf pin (P. palustris) habitat (nearly devoid of hardwood vegetation) during spring, late summer, and winter during 1990 and 1991.